A Piece of Me
by Metroathletegirl
Summary: Sydney realizes that Gage will stop at nothing to save her life...
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"Hey, were is Sydney today? She is usually on time, if not, early." Gage asked with a hint of humor as he walked into Ranger Headquarters.

"I don't know," sighed Walker. "If she isn't able to make it to work she usually calls me."

"Well, maybe she's just stuck in traffic." Gage said hopefully as he glanced over at his partner's empty desk.

"Hey Walker," asked Trivette. "You alright, buddy?"

"Hmmm, something just doesn't feel right," Walker said thoughtfully.

"Oh God," Trivette moaned.

The two other men lifted their heads from their paperwork and looked over at Trivette and then back at each other. Gage knitted his eyebrows and asked, "What's wrong?"

"It's those Cherokee instincts of Walker's!" Trivette exclaimed as he looked away from his computer.

"What about them?" The Blonde ranger asked slightly puzzled.

"They are always indicative of something! If he says he has a bad feeling, then something bad will most certainly happen."

"That's the spirit Trivette!" Alex said sarcastically, as she enter the room.

"Hey, Alex." Walker said before kissing her on the cheek.

"Hi" She said as she smiled back at her husband. "Where is Sydney? We have a lunch date today."

"We don't know," said Gage as he picked up the phone. "But I'm going to call her house. It's really unlike her to be," he looked at his watch. "Twenty-eight minutes late."

Alex watched him put the phone to his ear, then looked at her husband. "I just came by to let you know that I have to work late. I have a brand new case that I need to start working on," She said with a sigh.

"Okay. Just let me know if you need anything," said Walker. "How are you feeling?"

"Very pregnant," Alex said plainly.

"Oh," Walker smiled. "Good."

Walker and Alex both looked over to see Trivette chuckling at Walkers remark. Alex turned back to Walker, "I'd best get going."

The two senior rangers watched Alex walk out the door before turning to Gage who had gotten a hold of Sydney, "...alright Syd. I'll be there as soon as I can," he said as he began to get out of his seat. "Hang in there."

**TBC**

What did you guys think? This is my first fanfic so please review! I have a couple great ideas, but I'll only continue if you guys think that the story has potential!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Sydney had been feeling fatigued for the past few weeks, but had tried to hide it from her male colleagues. Even though she knew that they would never think less of her because she was feeling poorly, she still felt the need it hide it. She could not appear weak. Especially in such a physically demanding job.

However, early this morning, she woke up to excruciating back pain. "Ughhh..." she thought. "Maybe I pulled a muscle sparring with Gage yesterday."

When she pulled herself out of bed to get some aspirin, she was so dizzy, she couldn't maintain her balance. But, after using the walls to guide her, she finally reached the bathroom and opened up the medicine cabinet.

As she reached for the pain reliever, she noticed her hands. Why were they so swollen? She could barely open the pill bottle with her stiff, oversized fingers. After a few, frustrating minutes, of attempting to accomplish what is usually a simple, everyday task, she filled a cup with sink water and gratefully swallowed the medication.

She, then, stood back up while holding onto the sink, trying to keep her dizziness in check. Once she was a little more steady, she reached for the open pill bottle and it's top. She tried to screw the top back on, but she didn't have the strength to keep a tight grip on the bottle and as a result, it fell to the floor. A hundred little aspirin scattered all over the tile. "Damn it!" She said. "What is wrong with me today?" She thought to herself, "I'll just clean this up later."

As she made her way out of the bathroom, her dizziness worsened, yet again, and she stumbled. She put her arms down to break the fall, but they were to weak to support her weight. She hit her head on the coffee table before her body hit the floor. Tears of pain and frustration burned her eyes as she curled into a ball on the floor and fell into merciful sleep.

Two hours later...

Ring, ring... Ring, Ring...

The sound of the phone ringing in the kitchen brought Sydney out of her sleep. She shook her head and tried to clear the fog, but wasn't very successful.

She got up and staggered into the kitchen. On her way, she bumped into a wall and knocked a picture of her and Gage graduating the Academy off the wall. When she finally made it to the kitchen, she picked up the phone. "Hello?" She said wearily and she glanced over at the clock.

"Sydney? Are you okay?"

It was 8:28! She was almost a half hour late to work. She slid down the wall and sat on the kitchen floor. "Oh God, Gage. I'm sick. I would have called but I was sleeping..." She said weakly.

"What wrong? Do you have the flu? I've never heard you sound so terrible."

"I don't know. I don't think it is the flu. I'm really dizzy and weak. I woke up at 5:45 this morning with..." she stopped to take a breath, praying that her dizziness would lessen.

"Syd?"

"Sorry, I had to stop to catch my breath." Her swollen fingers were protesting as she was holding the phone.

"What did you wake up with?"

"My back was hurting really badly..." She said as the phone slid out of her weak, aching hands. She picked it back ip with her other and brought it to her ear.

"...are you there? Is everything okay?"

"Sorry Gage, I dropped the phone."

"Alright Syd," he said, becoming very worried. "I'm going to get you and take you to the hospital. Something isn't right. Hang in there."

She didn't have the strength to argue and hung up the phone. She closed her eyes and waited for her partner.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Knock, knock, knock... "Sydney?" Gage waited a few moments for Sydney to open the door. When she didn't, he figured that she must be sleeping and took the liberty of letting himself in with the key she kept hidden on top of her door frame.

When he stepped in, he looked around for a second before his eyes found Sydney curled up against one of the walls in her kitchen with the phone laying beside her. She was wearing short black athletic pants with a Rangers t-shirt. Her clothing fit loosely and seemed to swallow her. She had obviously been losing weight. How could he have not noticed?

Gage went over to her tiny figure and gently shook her. "Hey, Shorty..." Her big brown eyes fluttered open. They were sunken into her head and had dark circles beneath them. Just yesterday when he looked into her eyes they were full of life. Now they were dull and filled with confusion.

"Gage..." She said as he lifted her tiny frame and carried her over to the sofa. Once he set her down, he went to the kitchen to get her a bottle of water.

"What happened to you?" He held the water bottle to her mouth while she took a few small sips. "Have you called the doctor?"

She started to cough. "No," she whispered. "I feel so weak and dizzy." She said in-between coughs. She just could not seem to get enough air into her lungs.

"Come on, Shorty," Gage said as he lifted her into his arms. "We've got to get you to the hospital. I've never seen you like this."

Gage carried her out to his car and carefully set her in the front seat. She had felt so limp in his arms. She barely had enough strength to pull the seat belt over her body.

Many thoughts ran through Gage's mind as he started the car and pulled pit his cell phone. The phone rang four times before someone at the hospital finally picked up the phone. "Hello, this is Ranger Gage. I am bringing my partner Ranger Cooke to the E.R. "

"Alright, Ranger Gage. We will have our staff waiting for you when you get here. As you probably know, because Mrs. Cooke is a Ranger she is a high priority patient and will not have to wait."

"Thank you," Gage said has he hung up. He looked over at his partner who could barely keep her eyes open and said a silent prayer that she would be okay.

After a drive that felt like an eternity, Gage pulled into the Emergency Room entrance. He got out of the car and opened the passenger door. The blonde ranger lifted his partner out of his car and took her into the building. They immediately got her into a wheelchair and took her back to a room.

Gage was told he could go back to see Sydney when they finished running tests. In the meantime, he filled out all of her paperwork.

After about 45 minutes of waiting, Walker called. "Hello?" Gage said.

"Gage, how is Sydney?"

"Not good, Walker. She is so fatigued and dizzy that she can't even walk. We are at the hospital now and thy are running some tests, but other then that, I don't know anything else."

"Okay... Call me as soon as you find something out. When she is up to some company, Trivette and I will come by."

"Okay. Thanks Walker," Gage said as he hung up the phone. He sighed as he looked up at the clock. _It's been almost an hour. What's taking them so long?_ He wondered.

Another 15 minutes later, the doctor came out and called out, "Family of Ranger Cooke?"

"That's me," Gage said as he walked over the older man. The doctor was a few inches shorter than Gage. He had silver hair that was thinning and his eyes were a sky blue that were covered by thick rimmed eye glasses. "Hi, I'm Ranger Gage, Sydney's partner." He reached out and shook the elderly man's hand anxiously.

"Dr. Cheney." The man nodded and shook Gage's hand.

The doctor gestured for Gage to follow him. "How is my partner doing?" Gage asked as he walked through the double doors.

"Well," said the doctor. "The test results haven't come back yet, so we can't be sure of anything." He stopped and turned toward the blonde Ranger. "However, based off of her symptoms, and there is no easy way to say this, but it looks like Sydney's kidneys are failing."

Gage felt his knees go soft and his head begin to spin. The doctor put a hand on his shoulder. "She is in that room if you want to see her." He said as he pointed to a room across the hall.

Gage nodded at Dr. Cheney and began to walk toward Sydney's room. He felt his body go numb as he pulled out his phone to call Walker. _Kidney failure?_ He thought.

TBC

**Please continue to review! I love to hear what you guys think!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Gage put the phone to his ear and heard Walker's calm voice, "Hello?"

"Walker."

"Gage, what did the doctor say about Sydney?"

Gage sighed and looked up before answering, "The doctor thinks that her kidneys might be failing."

"Oh my God-"

"I'm going to go in and see her," Gage interrupted. "I'll… I'll call you when I know more." He said shakily.

"Okay, hang in there, Gage. She needs for you to comfort her and support her more then anything right now."

"Alright," Gage said as he began to walk toward Sydney's room. He hung up the phone and stuffed it ion his pocket.

He opened the door to his partner's room. She was lying there with in a hospital gown with a thin sheet pulled over her small body. She was hooked up to an IV and a few machines. The only sound in the room was the steady beeping that let the doctors know what was going in inside Sydney's body.

At the sound of Gage's footsteps, Sydney opened her eyes and turned her head. "Gage?"

"Hey Shorty," Gage said with a small, sympathetic smile. "How are you doing?" He said as he sat down and patted her leg.

"Okay," she said and gave him a thin smile. "Do the doctors know anything yet?"

Gage crumbled at the sight of her big brown eyes and knew that he owed to it her to be honest. Sydney never liked anything to be sugar coated. He brushed some hair away from her face and sighed before he said, "Dr. Cheney is running some tests right now, but he thinks that your kidneys are failing."

Sydney's facial expression changed from one of curiosity to one of confusion and despair. "How is that possible? I'm a heathy person! Why would my kidneys be failing?"

Gage spoke in a calm voice hoping to soothe her, "I don't know. The doctor's suspicions haven't even been confirmed. He could be totally wrong."

All Sydney could do was lay her head back and wait for the doctor. "Why me?" She whispered to herself.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey! Thanks for the reviews! I am going on vacation, so I probably won't have an update until sunday night or sometime on monday! Sorry... but anyway, please enjoy! **

**Also, I have done my research on this type of kidney failure, but I'm sure I don't have my facts completely straight so please understand!**

Chapter 5

It was about 2 o'clock when Walker and Trivette walked into Sydney's hospital room. She was sound asleep and Gage was flipping through an old magazine. "Hey," Gage said as stood up.

"How is she doing?" Asked Trivette. "Have they gotten the test results yet?"

"No," Gage sighed. "The nurse said that the tests still haven't come back yet, but they have been giving her fluids which has made her more comfortable."

The three Rangers looked over at Sydney as she began to stir at the sound of their voices. Walker looked over at Gage and asked in a quiet voice, "Does she know?"

Gage nodded his head at Waller and turned back to Sydney who was finally opening her eyes. Walker and Trivette walked over to the other side of her bed and greeted her. "Hey, Sydney," Walker said with a smile and while he patted her shoulder. Trivette bent down and gave a hug. "How are you doing?" He asked.

"A little better since they've been giving me fluids and medicine," She said with a weak smile.

"Hello," All four rangers turned their heads to see the doctor as he came through the door. "I'm Sydney's doctor." He reached out and shook Walker's and Trivette's hands.

"Hi," said Walker. "I'm Ranger Walker and this is my partner, Ranger Trivette." Trivette nodded and smiled at the man as they shook hands.

Dr. Cheney turned to Sydney. "Ranger Cooke, your test results have come back."

Sydney simply nodded her head and bit her lip, anticipating what the doctor was going to say next.

"First thing that you should know is that we found what seems to be a benign tumor in your abdomen on your CT scan. It is obstructing your ureters," The doctor paused and looked over his glasses before going on. "Which has caused kidney failure."

No one in the room knew what to do or what to say for a minute. So many thoughts and memories of the rangers that were close enough to be family. It was Sydney who finally broke the intense silence, "What happens next? How will this effect my life," she paused and looked up at her colleagues, "and job." She looked back over to the doctor.

"The first thing we need to do is get you strong enough for surgery. We are going to do a Ureterovesical junction obstruction. It is where an incision is made in the lower abdomen. The area of tumor is removed and the ureter is sewn into the bladder. Sometimes it is necessary to taper the ureter. Afterwards, a tube is left in the bladder and sometimes a ureteral stent and a kidney drainage tube are also left. These tubes will be removed in the hospital or office."

"...and after that?" Gage asked.

"Well, it's hard to say for sure, but it is very likely that your kidneys are permanently damaged."

"What will I do then?" Sydney asked as she felt tears begin to burn the back of her eyes.

"You will most likely be on dialysis. However, that is looking very far ahead into the future. Right now we just need to focus on the surgery. If that goes well and the blockage hasn't damaged the kidneys as much as I originally thought it has, then you may not need to be on dialysis." The doctor said hopefully. "We are going to take very good care of you," He said as he began to walk out of the door. "It was nice to meet you all."

None of the rangers knew what to say. They all just stared at the floor, until Sydney finally broke the silence, and spoke in a soft voice, "Thanks for coming to see me you guys, I really appreciate it... But I need to be alone right now."

"Okay, Sydney. We understand." Said Walker in his usual kind tone. Everybody said their goodbyes and began to walk out the door.

Gage, walking behind, the two senior rangers turned around before he closed the door and said, "If you need anything call me. I'll come by to see you in the morning." He said as a smile crossed his face. He was trying to be as strong as possible for her.

"Thanks Gage, thanks for what you did for me today." Sydney knew her partner would go to the end of the earth for her.

"You're welcome, Shorty." Gage said as he walked out the door.

**TBC**

**Soooooo what do you guys think? Still good?**


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